News Release

2018 Another Record Year for Visitation at Bryce Canyon National Park

Date: March 14, 2019
Contact: Peter Densmore, 435-834-4744

With 2,679,478 recreational visits in 2018, Bryce Canyon National Park has seen another record year for annual visitation. Recreational visits in 2018 were up by 107,794 visits from last year, and up over 1.6 million visits from 2010. The park has remained above 2 million annual recreational visits since 2016. 

“The visitation to our national parks continues to affirm that Americans are in love with their public lands and hold dear the stories of our nation embodied in the natural, cultural and historic landscapes we protect in the National Park System,” National Park Service Deputy Director Dan Smith said. Superintendent Linda Mazzu added, “Bryce Canyon National Park includes the largest area of hoodoo formations in the world. Our visitation numbers reflect the importance of this world class treasure.”

The park is looking forward to another busy year as seasonal employees, concession staff, and volunteers begin to arrive. Visitors are encouraged to minimize congestion by taking advantage of the park’s free shuttle system, which will begin providing service to the park’s most popular areas on Friday, April 12th and will run daily through October 21st. 

Federal holiday weekends and both of the park’s annual festivals—the Astronomy Festival (June 26 to June 29) and Geology Festival (July 26 to July 27)—are expected to be periods of peak visitation. Multiple construction projects are also planned within the park in 2019. Visitors can stay informed of anticipated impacts by visiting the park web site at nps.gov/brca

For an in-depth look at 2018 visitation, including individual park figures, please visit the NPS Social Science web site at www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/annual-visitation-highlights.htm

To learn more about Bryce Canyon National Park, park conditions, and upcoming events, visit www.nps.gov/brca or call  the park’s information line at [phone].